Thursday February 25th at the Forest service office in South Lake Tahoe, 5-7pm.

Another opportunity to let the forest service know what we want done to our trails. This will be more of a prioritization of the ideas sent in just last month. The FS should be open to new ideas as well.

Please take the time to stop by and voice your opinion. Yes, it’s a drive for those of us in the Reno/Sparks area but it’s worth it to let the FS know we are willing to engage in conversations about maintaining our trails and how those trails are managed.

Not only does this meeting include upcoming possible projects but also HOW our trails are managed. We are looking for a closer relationship with the LTBMU. We want to work WITH them. The LTBMU has a history of doing their own thing and not reaching out to the users and volunteers. We need to change that.

Please attend this open house and let the LTBMU know you want to be involved in all OHV decisions. Let them know we are willing to step up and work with them to maintain our trails. Let them know what is important to you.

The Forest Service will host and open house next Thursday, February 25, from 5 – 7 p.m. here at the Forest Supervisor’s Office in South Lake Tahoe (see attached news release).

The open house will seek public input on developing three preliminary applications for the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds grants that will be submitted to the State of California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division (OHMVR).

The Eldorado National Forest (ENF) is holding an open house February 10th 4pm-7pm in Placerville for input regarding the next CA State Parks OHV grant cycle.

This is a great opportunity for the users to tell the forest what we want done to our trails. If we don’t tell them, they do what they want.

For the Tahoe side of the Rubicon, this specifically applies to the Richardson Lake Trail. To their credit, a ton of work was done to reopen the trail to the summit. We should at least be requesting funds to finish or repair any issue that may have developed over winter.

Please take the time to comment on the Richardson Lake Trail or any other trail within the ENF.

For Immediate Release

Date: February 2, 2016

Public invited to Eldorado National Forest Open House to discuss Off-Highway Vehicle grant applications

Placerville, CA – The Eldorado National Forest will be submitting applications for Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds for the upcoming 2015/2016 grant cycle. The Forest is developing preliminary applications to the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division which includes a strong emphasis on trail maintenance and repair, law enforcement across the four Ranger Districts, printing and distribution of the Motor Vehicle Use Maps, restoration of impacted areas, planning, and education.

As your ideas are important for developing our proposals, the Forest will be hosting an Open House on February 10 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM to discuss the proposed preliminary grant applications. This Open House will be held at the Eldorado National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667. You can call (530) 622-5061 for directions.

The Eldorado National Forest has been successful in being awarded grants from the OHMVR Division in previous grant cycles. The grants have helped address trail repair and clearing of downed trees on over 300 miles of OHV routes and law enforcement patrol on an additional 900 miles of native surface roads on the Forest, provided for the printing of free Motor Vehicle Use Maps, as well as other planning, development, and restoration activities.

The public may provide electronic comments to the Eldorado National Forest (applicant) by e-mailing both Cindy Oswald at coswald@fs.fed.us and carbon copying (cc) the OHMVR Division at ohvinfo@parks.ca.gov. You may also send written comments, suggestions, or letters of support for the applications to Cindy Oswald, Eldorado National Forest, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667.

The other day I stopped by the Tahoe entrance to the Rubicon Trail. I had no intentions of driving up the trail and when I got there, I was reminded of an agreement with Placer County.

I pulled my truck up to the wall of snow currently blocking the entrance for scale. Although the trail is open year round, the agreement is that local and county snow removal operators can dump and pile snow at the entrance to the Rubicon in order to allow only the most well equipped vehicles.

The basin received a major dumping AFTER I took these pictures. So, imagine this as a larger wall!

Come spring time, as the snow melts at the trailhead, the snow should be melting on the trail as well. The hope is that the trail will dry before the snow melts at the entrance. This doesn’t always work out but it’s better than a steel gate and seasonal closures.

Once over the ‘gate’ trail conditions mellow for a short time. There is a slight grade to the staging area and then a steeper grade out of the staging area. Both can ice over in a hurry.

Lake level temperatures are often warmer than temperatures further up the trail. So, the ‘gate’ comes and goes. There are some challenging sections during the winter on the Tahoe side.

If you go, please stay on the trail and Tread Lightly! There are many seasonal creek crossings. Use a winch and a tree strap rather than spinning your tires and trying to power your way through the trail.

It is possible to be cited for “resource damage” while driving on an open OHV trail. (I’m still looking for the actual language and code number than I know I saved somewhere.)